Affordable Housing, Community Development, Federal News, Homelessness

June 30, 2015

National Low Income Housing Coalition

On June 25, 2015, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Transportation and Urban Development and Related Agencies (THUD) approved its FY16 appropriations bill. The proposed bill drastically reduced funding to the HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program by 93%, while redistributing those funds across other programs.

The bill provides the following allocations:

$66 million for the HOME program, $994 million less than the president’s request and $ 701 million less than allocated in the House Appropriation bill. The Senate rejected allowing funding from the National Housing Trust Fund to offset the funding cuts.

$2.235 billion for the Homeless Assistance Grants, a $100 million increase from FY 15, but $245 million below the President’s Budget Proposal.

Project-Based Rental Assistance is funded at $10.826 billion, a $1.096 billion increase from FY 15, and $66 million above the President’s Requested Budget.

$19.935 billion in FY 16 for Tenant-Based Rental Assistance, which includes a $90 million increase in administrative fees and $25 million increase for Section 811 Mainstream Vouchers.

$137 million for Section 811 Housing for Persons with Disabilities programs, $2 million increase from FY 15.

$4.5 billion for the public housing operating fund, a $60 million increase for FY 15 levels.

$2.9 billion for Community Development Block Grant, a $166 million decrease from FY15, and $20 million less than the President’s Budget Proposal. $15 million cut in FY 16 to the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative.

$20 million for 2,500 Family Unification Program (FUP) vouchers.

$50 million for Policy Development and Research, a $13 million increase from FY 15.

The bill allocates funding to provide 10,000 new vouchers for Veterans and 2,500 vouchers for families experiencing homelessness. However, the bill still fails to reinstate the 67,000 vouchers, as proposed in the President’s budget, to help provide affordable housing to low-income families.

Click here for National Low-Income Housing Coalition’s (NLIHC) summary of the Senate THUD Appropriation bill, the House Appropriations bill, and the President’s budget request.

Click here to read the blog post from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities on the Senate Appropriation Bill.